


In the Cards

by buzzbuzz34



Series: Sasha Week 2021 [2]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Drowning, Gen, Prequel, sasha week 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28837125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buzzbuzz34/pseuds/buzzbuzz34
Summary: Sasha is new on the ship and knows not to trust anyone.  But when her life is in danger, they come for her, and she starts to wonder if maybe this family will be different than the ones she knew before.This is set as a sort of prequel to my big bang fic from this last year, Hope on the Horizon, a pirate/privateer au where the pcs (minus Bertie of course) serve under Captain Zolf and are tasked with investigating weird storms.This is Sasha’s early experience on the ship and how she learns to trust the crew.
Relationships: Azu & Sasha Racket, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam & Sasha Racket, Sasha Racket & Zolf Smith
Series: Sasha Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112555
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: Sasha Week 2021





	In the Cards

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hope on the Horizon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26170882) by [buzzbuzz34](https://archiveofourown.org/users/buzzbuzz34/pseuds/buzzbuzz34). 



> Written for day 2 of Sasha Week 2021! Today's prompt was AUs.

“Oi, new girl, wanna join?” 

Sasha glanced down from her perch in the rigging, where she was barely visible in the dim light of the setting sun. Below her, a few members of the crew sat in a circle with cards in their hands.

“No.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Grizzop said with a shrug. “Offer stands, though.”

She said nothing and allowed Grizzop, Azu, and Cel to carry on with their game. It would have been easy to cheat, especially with the way most of them waved their hands around so carelessly, but Sasha wasn’t in the mood to attempt any form of socialization.

Not that she ever was in that sort of mood, really. Since joining the crew of Hope’s Call, the most interaction she’d had was with the captain, Zolf, who brought her aboard in the first place after he found her escaping some of Barrett’s people and she used him as an impromptu shield. He had offered her a job, where she could really be free from those chasing her, and it seemed as good an offer as she would get.

But that didn’t mean she had to be chatty and cozy with the crew. All she’d managed was a quick introduction after Zolf showed her around. He then left her to her own devices, where she was free to climb around in the rigging and make her own little home in the crow’s nest, closest to the sky and farthest from people.

Even if the crew seemed nice and friendly, Sasha knew not to get involved, knew that they would sacrifice each other for their own safety or profit in an instant. That’s how people worked. She didn’t need social skills to know that.

*

The waves crashed violently against the hull, rocking Hope’s Call to and fro at the whim of the ocean. The side to side thrashing never bothered Sasha, and she actually enjoyed the motion as she clutched on tight to the rigging and let the sea spray wash over her.

That is, until another wave came and pitched her overboard.

She didn’t know how to swim. She’d never had to. Flailing and splashing, another wave smashed her sideways and sent her under the surface.

It wasn’t how she expected to go. She figured that Barrett would get to her one day, or she would face some similarly violent end. To sink down beneath an ocean, buffeted and barred from the surface by a storm, had never been in the cards. 

She still tried to breach the surface, to fill her burning lungs with precious air, but it was of no use. This was it. 

Sasha shut her eyes, and waited. 

But the end didn’t come. Instead, arms wrapped around her and yanked her to the surface. She and Zolf gasped for breath in the tumultuous waters.

“Hang on, we’ve got you,” he cried, then turned back to their ship. “I’ve got her! Pull us back!”

On deck, Azu, Cel, and Grizzop pulled on the rope tied to Zolf’s middle to haul the pair back to the ship where they could scrabble up the side to safety. They then both collapsed into coughing, retching up the water they’d swallowed.

“You’re safe. You need to rest. Get your air back.”

Normally, Sasha would have bristled at the way Azu placed a hand on her shoulder, but there was something in the warmth of Azu’s touch and gaze that kept Sasha motionless as a pink light flowed through the contact.

“There, that should help.”

“What was that?”

“Healing magic. From Aphrodite.”

“Oh. Well… thanks.” Sasha then turned to Zolf, who still sat beside her. “And thank you for getting me out of that.”

“Of course. We don’t leave a crewmate behind.”

“Right.”

As if detecting the disbelief in her tone, Cel stepped in. “We’re a family here. I know it might be hard to believe that, but we’ve got your back. It’s not like we’re just going to let you drown because you’re a bit antisocial. Besides! I’m social enough for all of us!”

For the first time in ages, Sasha smiled. It was the faintest upturn of her lips, but it was a smile nonetheless.

She knew better than to trust people. They would leave at the slightest provocation. But sat on a deck, surrounded by the people that had just saved her life, she was starting to believe that maybe this crew would be different. Maybe, just maybe, they were a family after all. 

*

“Mind if I join?”

Grizzop, Azu, and Cel all gave each other surprised looks, then scooched aside so that Sasha could sit and join their card game. Cel dealt her in.

“We don’t bet money, just regular items,” Grizzop explained, gesturing with one of his arrows. “Azu’s got perfume, Cel’s got… whatever those things are.”

Cel held up a small contraption that whirred quietly even though it showed no sign of motion or function, then placed it back in the center.

Sasha paused, brow creased, as she considered what she might be able to use. In the end, she opened her jacket and pulled out a dagger, then set it in the pot. It wasn’t as if they weren’t all armed anyway, and if they’d wanted to do her harm, they could have left her to drown.

But they didn’t.

With a faint smile, Sasha looked over her cards. “I won’t even cheat this round. Just to say thanks.”

“Thanks for what?” Azu asked. 

“For… you know. Letting me be a part of your crew.”

Azu smiled back, beaming, but then Grizzop interrupted. 

“What was that about cheating?”

“I said I wouldn’t cheat this round.”

“Do you normally cheat when playing cards!?”

“Don’t you!?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Check out @sashaweek on tumblr for more good Sasha content!
> 
> If you want to find more of my writing, head over to kellanswritingblog.tumblr.com, or feel free to check out my personal, celsidebottom.tumblr.com


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